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In today's episode, Dr. Charles Davis of the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University talks to Adam about the effects of climate change on plant species at Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. Because its rich history of research dates back to Henry David Thoreau's eponymous work, the flora around Walden have provided valuable historical data pertaining to the effects of a steady and dramatic rise in mean annual temperatures in the past 150 years. This change in the local climate at Walden has negative effects on indigenous plant species that have not adjusted to "spring creep," the starting of spring eight to ten days earlier than a few decades ago. A seemingly subtle shift of eight to ten days has concrete and observable consequences; the less adaptable species are failing to flower when their insect pollinators are most active, which can adversely affect the insect-flower interactions that govern successful plant reproduction. As a result, invasive species — those better able to adapt to changing climates — are supplanting native species, causing the latter to diminish in number. Join Adam as he learns about the effects of climate change at Walden and how climate change is fast becoming a local issue. [05:25]
